


Sparring With Demons

by GR33NK1D



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Backstory, Bromance, Childhood Trauma, Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gay, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, My First AO3 Post, Post-Majin Buu Saga, Sparring, Vegeta (Dragon Ball) vs Feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:01:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22699093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GR33NK1D/pseuds/GR33NK1D
Summary: Goku has known Vegeta for a long time. They've fought each other, fought others together, and raised two growing families. But there's some things that they both hide, even from each other.Ft. a Vegeta who's actively trying to recover from his shitty childhood and a Goku who's supportive but kinda bad at talking reasonably about the whole thing.
Relationships: Son Goku/Vegeta (Dragon Ball)
Kudos: 63
Collections: Kakavege Week





	Sparring With Demons

The sun was beating down on the Earth as Goku and Vegeta beat down on each other.

They'd begun their training session around noon, right after a large, hearty lunch. Somehow, they had come to an unspoken agreement that neither of them were going to transform or use any Ki blasts. Just raw force, physical training, pushing their bodies to their limits and beyond. There may not have been any threats to the planet since Majin Buu - whom had appeared several years previously - but on top of always wanting to be prepared, the two Saiyans never passed up an opportunity to become stronger.

These days, it was pretty clear that the only people who could give Goku or Vegeta a real challenge in a fight were each other.

The shorter man threw a punch towards the other, fist impacting his forearm as Goku blocked the hit. Beads of sweat splattered off his arm from the force of the blow, but he reacted quickly, sweeping out his rival's legs with one of his own.

For a moment, Vegeta's guard was down as he focused on landing, and Goku took the opportunity to throw an answering punch to the prince's cheek - it impacted quick and hard. Vegeta grunted in acknowledgement (and anger) of the hit as he flipped backwards in the air, righting himself. Instantly, he sprung forwards, a punch thrown towards his mortal rival, only to find his punch go through the fading afterimage. He snarled in frustration.

Sensing the other's energy, he whipped around, just in time to see Goku, fist raised and coming towards him. Instinctively, he raised a palm towards him, shouting as a large explosion of Ki burst from his hand, engulfing his opponent.

Vegeta lowered his hand, not moving to attack as he felt the tension of battle in the other's energy fade. That usually meant it was time for a Goku-regulated break.

When the smoke and dust cleared, he saw the other man sitting on the ground, shaking himself off and looking grumpy.

"Hey! I thought we were fighting without blasts!" he cried out, patting down the scorched patch of his Gi.

Vegeta folded his arms, scoffing. "Maybe _you_ were, Kakarot. I don't remember any such rule."

Pouting for a moment, Goku sighed. Anyone else might've thought Vegeta was just being a smartass, but the other Saiyan knew him better.

_Next time we fight, we set boundaries, then make more of an effort to break them._

Bulma told him he 'spoke Vegeta' like she did. It was something he was pretty darn good at. Standing up and pulling off the top, weighted layer of his damaged Gi, he tossed it to the ground, exhaling and wiping sweat from his forehead.

They may have just been bantering, but both of them were low on energy. It was a combination of the heat and the physical intensity of their fight, and regardless of if they were trying to hide it, it was clear they both needed a break.

Plopping down on the grass beneath a tree, Goku grinned tiredly as he exclaimed, "Man I dunno _how_ you're fighting with gloves on! My hands are so sweaty and gross, haha!"

"Tch," the prince scowled, "I am perfectly fine with them on. You should thank me for not subjecting YOU to the same sweaty filth you've treated me to."

_You smell terrible._

He snorted as Vegeta sat a few feet away from him, attempting to get some shade whilst avoiding being too close to the other. "Aw, what, should I start wearing gloves too? Got an extra pair with you I could try?"

"I do not." Sitting cross-legged and bolt upright, the shorter Saiyan answered with the same tone he used for his son. Dealing with Kakarot really was like dealing with a child sometimes.

Leaning back against the tree, his legs splayed out in front of him laxly, Goku grinned towards the other. "Then... can I try on yours?"

Vegeta visibly bristled. "No."

_Leave the topic alone._

The orange-clad monkey boy had received the message, but his curiosity made it go in one ear and out the other. "Why not?" He tilted his head, looking towards Vegeta's hands curiously.

The prince grunted dismissively as if the question was stupid, turning his head away from the other.

Goku blinked, not getting the hint. His mind was more focused on the realization that he'd never actually _seen_ Vegeta's hands without those white gloves covering them. Thinking harder than he usually did, he blurted out, "Do your hands look weird or somethin'?"

Scowling, Vegeta whipped his head back around to glare at the taller man. "Why are you suddenly so damn interested, idiot?" he growled, his voice suddenly filled with much more venom than it was a moment ago. This time, Goku took the hint, noticing the change.

_I don't want to talk about this. This is your last warning to leave it be._

"Hey, Vegeta, relax, I didn't mean for it to sound rude. I just realized I've never actually seen the hands that keep punching me, y'know?" He tried to offer a faint chuckle to diffuse the tension, but truthfully, the change in tone had clearly taken him aback.

The prince closed his eyes, giving the other's weak attempt at calming him down the silent treatment.

Goku gazed at Vegeta for a few moments, then looked down, pouting subconsciously. He hadn't meant to upset him. Why did he always have to be so uptight and grumpy all the time? They were friends! He must've known he meant nothing by the question. Everyone and their mother knew Goku was bad at being coherent when his mouth said stuff without checking with his brain first. Which... happened annoyingly often. Maybe his next training should be to try and get that in check.

As Goku sat and pondered this, spacing out, the other Saiyan didn't say a word. In his mind, a part of him tried to rationalize it - the idiot didn't know, and still doesn't, so there's no reason to be angry at the idiot for asking a simple question. The rest of him, however, said that he should mind his own business, or else the hands he's never seen might punch him twice as hard when they started sparring again.

This was Kakarot, though. Always trusting, always loving, always good-natured. He'd never given Vegeta a reason to doubt his trust. He'd placed his life in his sweaty, ungloved hands more times than he'd ever admit. They'd told each other plenty of secrets that the other - as far as he knew - hadn't been exposed or told to anyone else.

Vegeta's brows furrowed, eyes still closed, as he continued to overthink the conversation.

They sat in silence for several minutes, both pondering their respective sides of the conversation, then finally, Vegeta sighed, opening his eyes and glaring at the grass in front of him.

In a foggy, after-spar, overheated mindset, he'd come to a realization.

He _did_ trust Kakarot. Even if it felt unnatural and almost painful to admit, he did. He'd never trusted anyone he'd fought alongside with before, and here he was, trusting the strongest person in the world next to him.

He trusted that idiot with his entire life.

So why wouldn't he trust him with the knowledge of bad parts of it?

"Kakarot."

His voice was still gruff, but quieter than usual. Softer.

At the noise, Goku was jerked out of his aimless thoughts, blinking towards the other as he was brought back to reality. "Uh, yeah?"

Vegeta sighed again, uncrossing his arms. He wasn't looking directly at him, and the other could sense his hesitation. His usually tense, battle-ready Ki was.. wavering. Stuttering slightly.

"Do you really want to know why I always wear these?"

The other Saiyan's eyes widened. Vegeta sounded so... genuine. The angry, defensive barrier was fading. He folded his legs, resting his arms on them as he leaned slightly towards the other. Thinking quickly, he realized he couldn't mess this up with a joke or a nudge to his ego. He was being open, and he knew he had to respond in kind if he ever wanted this to happen again.

Trying not to stutter or sound too eager, he managed, "Uh.. Yeah. I do. If- if that's okay." He added that last bit as reassurance, not sure if Vegeta needed it or not, but happy to provide it regardless.

The prince gritted his teeth. "Whatever."

_Don't coddle me._

"Just.. don't make me regret this."

_Don't tell anyone else about this._

Goku nodded, expression serious. He got the message. He was actually quite good at keeping secrets when they really mattered.

Vegeta gazed down at his own hands, hesitating once more. His eyes flickered, mentally deciding to just rip the bandaid off, and doing just that with one of his gloves.

Goku's eyes widened.

There was a thick, dark, deep scar running around his wrist. It looked like it had healed over itself more times than he could count.

The other glove was removed quickly, revealing symmetrical scarring, and both pieces of tough fabric were thrust into the taller man's chest before he had time to respond.

"You said you wanted to try them on. Now's your chance." Vegeta had folded his arms again, but the scars were still clearly visible on the wrist above his arm.

Goku blinked, trying to get his mind working again. It was like he forgot how to breathe.

He'd seen Vegeta without a shirt several times and in workout shorts once, so he had seen the mass of old scars that covered his body; cuts, blasts, blows, scrapes, explosions... He'd assumed they had gradually appeared over the time he worked for Frieza, from the people whose planets he sold. He'd never asked or given much thought to them. Yamcha and Tien both had scars, after all. Nothing weird about that in his book; they were fighters, everybody got scars sometimes. Even he had a few scars from old battles.

But something about the scars on his wrists were different. They weren't one attack in a passing fight that happened to strike hard... They were deliberate, thick, and obviously, whatever had caused them had happened multiple times to be that deep and thick.

He held the gloves in his hand, looking down at them and feeling outside of his own body, looking at the scene from above. Had he had those scars when they met? He had to. They were obviously very old.

Goku wondered if _he'd_ given Vegeta any scars.

With that thought, he lurched back into his own body, feeling sick to his stomach.

"I'm sorry."

The words were blurted out before he even realized he was forming the sentence in his mind.

Vegeta was taken aback. After a moment of shock, he turned to the side, scowling as he said, "For what? It's not like you did it."

"Who did?"

Goku's mouth was running wild today, and his brain was still catching up with the magnitude of what Vegeta was revealing to him.

The prince's eyes flicked downwards for a moment, then they closed. "Who do you think, dumbass?" His voice was low, but the answer was clear.

_Frieza._

**Author's Note:**

> first fanfic i've ever publicly posted, written in one fell swoop during an all-nighter, basically the first time writing these characters, haven't written anything legit or finished in years, never used this site before. please give me critiques and tips about anything you think i'm lacking or doing wrong, even if it's harsh! i want to improve. anyway, though, i hope you enjoyed this. next chapter coming soon!


End file.
